How to Get a Baseball Scholarship

There are over 1,600 college baseball programs with almost 50,000 college baseball players. College Baseball is categorized as an equivalency sport which means scholarships can be divided up and given to multiple players. This means most baseball scholarships are not full-ride scholarships, but instead are divided up as partial scholarships. Each division level is different in the number of scholarships they can offer and how they divide them up.

NCAA D1 Baseball Scholarships

There are 298 NCAA DI baseball programs with each team being allowed to offer a maximum of 11.7 scholarships per team. These scholarships can be divided up between multiple players. In order to be in position for scholarships you need to be evaluated by the coaching staff. At the D1 level coaches are contacted by thousands of recruits each year, having an online profile with professional video makes it much easier for coaches to evaluate you. This can give you an advantage against other recruits the coach is considering.

NCAA D2 Baseball Scholarships

There are 238 NCAA DII baseball programs with each team having a maximum of 9 scholarships per team. Many of the athletes who play D2 baseball are good enough to make a team at the D1 level but choose D2 because they can get more playing time and a better scholarship package. The recruiting rules are much the same as they are for D1. You need to be proactive and make it easy for coaches to evaluate you ahead of other recruits.

NCAA D3 Baseball Scholarships

There are 365 NCAA DIII programs across the country. There are more opportunities to play college baseball at the DIII level than any other level of four year schools. DIII programs are not able to offer athletic scholarships but are able to put together financial aid packages that rival the partial athletic scholarships at other levels. With limited recruiting budgets and without the appeal of baseball scholarships many D3 programs have a difficult time finding qualified recruits. For these coaches online profiles and video to help them overcome their limited recruiting budgets. Along with contacting coaches on your own, having your profile online allows a coach to evaluate you without having to take expensive flights and road trips.

NAIA Baseball Scholarships

There are 205 NAIA baseball programs with each program being allowed to offer up to 12 scholarships per team. There are more scholarships available per team at this division level than any other college division. Generally scholarships are divided up between multiple players. Because of the large number of scholarship available many players choose to play at the NAIA level where they can get the best scholarship packages.

Junior College Baseball Scholarships

There are 512 junior college baseball programs with each team being allowed to offer up to 24 scholarships. However, it is very rare to find a fully funded Junior College baseball team and there are usually significantly fewer scholarships available. At the junior college level each program is run very differently. Some programs are known for developing athletes not ready to play at a four year school while other programs have players with NCAA D1 talent who are at a 2-year school to get academically eligible.

Getting a scholarship is not easy but depending on what level you want to play, the basics are the same. Here is our guide to getting a scholarship.